Kingdom Hearts: Shattered Hearts
by Kutlessrocker
Summary: A young man named John has his life completely turned upside down when he is transformed into a Nobody.  He goes to the depths of Darkness to reclaim his heart, and his humanity.  Re-write chapter 1 is posted.
1. The Beginning of the End

Author's Note: Hey, guys. This is my canon update of "Shattered Hearts." I hoped to improve on the weak points and make it more on par with my current work. Enjoy, friends...

* * *

"In all my life, I never thought it would end like this."

Those were the last words I ever said in my human existence. Now, I don't even know what I am. Am I even alive? Probably not. I have no emotions. I can't feel love, pain, hope, despair, or even sorrow. All I feel is a gaping void where my heart used to be. I might as well not even be alive. It isn't all bad though. I feel a lot stronger now than when I was human. I'm not so weak anymore. Maybe that's my problem, I feel too alive in this form to be human.

* * *

That last day of my human existence was just like any other. I got up for school at the usual time, 9:30 AM. Thankfully, it was a Monday and I only had one class, Sociology. Oh, how I loved the schedule of a college student! I liked Sociology. It was the most interesting class I had.

I crawled out of my bed and shuffled to the bathroom. After taking a hot shower, I started my normal routine to get ready. I ran a comb through my blackish-red hair and brushed my teeth. After that, I put on a black Metallica shirt and my favorite pair of jeans.

Mom already had breakfast on the table. Scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and big, fluffy biscuits. "Goodmorning, John," she said as I sat down and tore into my food.

"Morning mom," I said while I was eating.

"After school, can you go to the store and pick up some groceries?" she asked. "We need pop, bread, cheese, and bottled water."

"Sure," I said as I finished off my plate. "See you later."

"Bye, John," she said. "Love you"

"You too mom," I said. I ran out the door to my car. If I'd known what was going to happen in ten short hours, I would have stayed a little longer. But life has a funny way of blindsiding you sometimes.

My class ended early, like always, and I headed home to waste the day away. Mondays were my day off from my job at the movie theatre. I enjoyed Mondays because that was the day I had some peace and quiet.

Mom had work all day until 11 PM so I had the house to myself. It was almost 7 before I realized I was supposed to go to the grocery store. Mom would kill me if I didn't. In hindsight, I would have rather faced her wrath than what I would encounter later that night.

I was driving the familiar, curvy, mountainous road to the grocery store. That was the one thing I hated the most about West Virginia, the curvy roads that were built along the sides of the mountains. One wrong swerve, and you'd go flying off the cliffside! But I didn't worry, I was a good driver and always stayed on my side of the road.

It was getting dark when I made it off the mountain roads and got on the interstate. That was more level and straight. They also kept it in better condition. The mountain roads were full of potholes and the state never fixed them unless the roads were collapsing off the mountainside.

I was about five minutes from the store when I saw something strange. There was a tall man in a black, hooded trenchcoat standing on the sidewalk underneath a streetlamp. The light illuminated his face a little. He had deep scars and an eyepatch. The end of his long, black ponytail was sticking out of his hood and he had a smirk on his face. I wondered what was so amusing. I dismissed it, though. There were plenty of weird people like that around here.

The grocery store's parking lot was surprisingly empty. I pulled into a parking spot and went inside the store. I had the layout of this store memorized so I found everything relatively quickly. I went and paid for the items and started to walk out to my car.

It was eerie in the dark, empty parking lot. It actually seemed like it was darker than before. The air was colder and it looked like the moon had been blotted out. The streetlamps also seemed to give out less light than they usually did. I was really feeling uneasy about this.

I was halfway to my car when I saw something dart across the parking lot in my peripheral vision. It scared the crap out of me! I tried to convince myself that it was just a big dog or something. I had no such luck at convincing myself. I started to run, but I was too late. My fate was already sealed.

The beast tackled me down to the ground. The groceries went flying and the case of pop exploded upon impact with the concrete. There was a dark air surrounding the beast so I didn't get a good look at my attacker. I was sure of two things, though. It wasn't a person, and it wasn't an animal. This was something else, and it wanted to kill me!

I lay there, helpless, underneath the beast. I could tell one thing about him in the dark, he was enormous. I tried to call for help, but no one was around to hear me. I was too far away from the store for the cashier to hear me. If I hadn't been screaming loud before, I shrieked in pain when he dug his left claw into my right shoulder and the claws on his feet tore into my thighs. I was losing so much blood. I knew I was a dead man. Nothing could save me now. I started to accept my fate as I felt the life drain out of my body.

Just when I thought it was finished with me, he did something I never wanted to see. He took his right claw and buried it into my chest. I screamed until my voice gave out and the tears of pain were streaming from my eyes like a river. I looked down to see crimson blood pouring from my mortal wounds. I also saw him pull my heart out. But it wasn't shaped like a normal heart, it looked like something a Hallmark card. He was just about to consume it when it disappeared into thin air. The monster roared in anger as I felt myself fade from existence.

"In all my life, I never thought it would end like this," I muttered as the last bit of life drained from me and I disappeared from the face of the earth. That may have been the end of my human life, but it was just the beginning of a new one.

* * *

Author's Note: So, how did you like it? Let me know in reviews what you think. I'll be updating this along with my other stories. Don't forget to read my others. And Master'sEnd and Dragginninja. Dragginninja is compiling his Nobody's Heartless series into one, complete anthology. Nobody's Heartless: The Complete Collection.


	2. Wandering the Void

Author's Note: Here's the second chapter of the re-write of Shattered Hearts.

* * *

I woke up in the darkest place I'd ever seen. The absence of any form of light was so unnerving. I thought I was dead and this was what happened. It ran through my mind that it might be Hell, but I figured quickly that it wasn't the case.

I checked myself. My clothes were still torn, but I didn't feel the wounds on my chest, arms, or legs. I could still smell my blood that was on my clothes. I also felt different. I felt taller, stronger, and completely different. My hair was longer than it used to be. It used to fall just to the top of my neck. Now, it was way past my shoulders. It was thicker too. Was I reincarnated, or something? If I was, I should have been a baby or something with no memories of my past life. I remembered my life perfectly.

Then it occurred to me. By all means, I should have been depressed, terrified, and panicking. I felt absolutely nothing. I had no emotions about my situation at all. I remembered what they were like, but I had absolutely no fear. I didn't like that.

I wished that I could see where I was. I subconsciously held my hand out and muttered Fira. A fireball encircled my hand and gave me some light. Not that I really saw anything, though. There wasn't anything to see. I was standing on a narrow ledge above a black, endless abyss. I looked up, and it went up as high as I could see. The ledge I was standing on looked like it had snow on it, but the consistency it had when I picked it up was closer to ash. I decided to keep going along the path until I found a way out. This place couldn't go on forever, could it?

I felt some new sensation. I couldn't quite tell what it was, but I knew it. The only word I could possibly think of was Darkness. I was Darkness. I felt its power coursing through me, using me as a conduit so it could channel itself and unleash all the raw power it held. I loved the sensation, especially since it was the only real thing I could feel.

I also felt many creatures of Darkness similar to the one that tried to kill me. They were weaker, and it wasn't among their numbers. I found that I could materialize two long, blue energy swords. I don't know what came over me, but it was like I was possessed by the Darkness. I couldn't control my actions as I sped around the area, slashing and vaporizing all of the dark entities. It was something I'd never felt before and never wanted to again.

When I finally came to my senses, I saw that all the dark monsters were gone. To this day, I don't know what they were, or if they were even hostile. I just know that they were gone before I even knew what they were. I dismissed my swords and continued to wander through that endless void, looking for a way out. I eventually ran into a dead end. I started to give up hope until a bright light appeared in front of me. It turned into the shape of the door. I had no idea where it would lead, but I had nothing to lose. I had to get out of that Dark place before I went insane. I walked through and couldn't believe the sight I saw.


	3. Destiny Islands

I don't know how, but I ended up on an island in the middle of a vast ocean. I washed up on the beach of a small town. I felt so disoriented. Then a beautiful, red haired girl came. She was short and wore a pink, strapless mini-dress and a white tank top underneath. She was also wearing a blue necklace, the same color of her eyes, shaped like a teardrop and white shoes with laces that tied halfway up her shins. She ran over to me to help me up.

"Who are you?" she said. "I've never seen you here before, and this is a very small town".

"I'm John. I'm not from around here. I just washed up on the beach." I couldn't tell her just yet where I came from. She'd probably have had me sent to a mental institution.

"I'm Kairi. I've lived here for 10 years. I'm not originally from here either. But I was only 4 when I came here so I don't remember much about my original home. This is my real home. I grew up here with my best friends Riku and …," she trailed off, almost like she was struggling to remember her best friend's name. I don't know how she could have forgotten that, but she seemed too nice to have just not remembered. I felt that something was keeping her from remembering. "Anyway," she said, "if you don't have a home, you can stay with my family. We have a few extra bedrooms and my parents won't mind." I reluctantly agreed. Kairi seemed like someone I could trust.


	4. Dinner With Her Family

Author's Note: Hey, this is just a minor update retconning the appearance of Kairi's parents. I needed to make it the same as they were in Hearts of the Olympians to keep canon. It had been bugging me for weeks and I finally got around to fixing it. This is probably the last one I fix. The rest, now that I look at it, are just fine the way they are.

* * *

Kairi's parents were just as kind and generous as she was. Her mom cooked extra dinner when Kairi told her she had invited me. They weren't mad that she asked me to stay without their permission. They actually seemed happy about it. I could tell immediately that they were good people.

I could also tell immediately that they weren't Kairi's real parents. Her mom had light red hair and cerulean eyes with slightly darker skin than Kairi. Her dad was very tall. He had chocolate brown hair with just a slight hint of gray creeping in from age. He had dark eyes and also had darker skin than Kairi. Something else that I hadn't noticed before, I could sense darkness in them. Not quite as great as what I felt in the company of those dark beings I slaughtered, but still there. I didn't feel any of that around Kairi. She had no darkness in her whatsoever. I decided I'd ask her about it after dinner.

"So John, where are you from?" her father asked.

"I'm from a small town in West Virginia," I said.

"Never heard of West Virginia," he said, "Are you from another country or something?"

"The United States of America," I said.

"I've never heard of that either," he said.

Kairi looked at me with a look that suggested she knew more than she was telling me.

"So Kairi, what happened to this Riku you were telling me about on the beach?" I said, "Where does he live?"

Her eyes opened wide like someone had just asked her if she robbed a bank. "He died 6 months ago," she said hastily, "There was a storm, and he was lost in it." But I knew she was hiding something. Maybe it was something she didn't want to tell her parents. She gave me a look that said 'I'll tell you later' and we finished dinner.


	5. I Learn the Truth

After dinner, she helped me get settled into my new room. I decided to ask her about everything she wasn't telling me. I started to speak up when she suddenly wrapped her arms around me and started crying. She stayed like that for about 5 minutes before she let go and said anything.

"I always hate having to tell that lie about Riku," she said, "He's not really dead, but he is lost. He's lost to the Darkness. It almost completely destroyed him."

"You know about the Darkness?" I said.

"Yes. I also know that you are tied to the Darkness. It draws to you like a magnet. But what I don't understand is why you haven't tried to destroy this island again," she said.

"I can tell that you have no darkness in you at all," I said, "How is that possible, everyone I've met has at least some darkness in them. But you don't have any."

"That's because I'm a Princess of Heart. There are seven of us. Our duty was to form the final keyhole on the world, Hollow Bastion. We were gathered together and completed the keyhole. Ansem, a really bad guy, wanted to rule the universe with the power he would gain from opening the door to Kingdom Hearts, the heart of all worlds."

"So who stopped him?" I asked.

"It was my other friend ..." she said," Why can't I remember his name! He was my best friend!" She began crying again. I tried to comfort her as much as I could. Kairi was heartbroken. I remembered what it felt like to have a heart that could feel. Truthfully, I envied her heartbreak. At least she could feel something. What's the point of existing if you can't feel anything? I longed for any emotion at all.

"Kairi, have you ever heard of someone losing their heart?" I asked.

"Yes," she said, "it happens to everyone who is turned into a Heartless."

"Heartless?" I asked.

"Yes, beings of pure darkness. Their sole purpose and desire is to collect more hearts and make more Heartless," She said.

"But, my heart was stolen and I'm not a Heartless," I said, "I don't know what I am." I half expected her to run screaming, but she seemed like she understood what I was saying.

"I lost my heart during the storm. But it went into my other friend." I could sense tears in her eyes at even the thought of this mysterious friend. "He went from world to world, fighting Heartless and sealing the keyholes of the worlds. He was the kindest person you will ever meet. But when I lost my heart, my body was in a comatose state. You claim to be just a body, but you're walking, talking, and breathing. How is that possible?"

"I don't know, but here I am," I said, "I know I lost my heart because I saw the Heartless rip it out! I also have no emotions, I can't feel anything. But I can remember what they were like so I can fake them very well."

"Hmm. Well, I've seen much stranger things in my life recently. I don't believe anything is impossible anymore," she said.

"You said this island was destroyed once before. Did this Ansem you mentioned have something to do with it?" I asked.

"Yes. He single-handedly plunged countless worlds into Darkness, this world included," she said. "I would have thought the Heartless would disappear just like all the damage he caused after he died, but they seem to be just as active as ever. Maybe he didn't create the Heartless at all. Maybe he just used them."

"That makes sense," I said. "Maybe he was just a pawn of the Darkness. Or maybe he was one of the leaders and there are more like him."

"I don't like the sound of that, but it seems like that's the only logical explanation," she said.

"Maybe they know how I could get my heart back."

"No! John, your heart is gone forever. It's been turned into a Heartless, hasn't it? I've only known one person who has ever gotten their heart back from the Heartless. And he was only a Heartless for a few minutes and I helped him get it back," she said.

"But Kairi, I have to at least try! I want to be a complete human again. In this form, I'm nobody!"

"But there's no guarantee that your heart isn't gone forever. It has been consumed by Darkness. You would have to travel into the deepest Darkness in order to have any hope of finding it again. That's why I'm not holding my breath for Riku to return. He's in the Realm of Darkness and nobody escapes from there," she said.

"Good thing I'm Nobody," I replied.

"You are somebody John. You're somebody to me!" she said. "I've only known you for a few hours, but I can sense that you are still a human being. Even though you don't have a heart, you are still alive. There has to be some reason for you still being in control of your body."

"Thanks Kairi," I said. She was my only friend at the time. Even though I didn't have a heart, I still felt the bond of friendship that we had. That friendship is what kept me sane through the hard times to come.


	6. Castle Oblivion

I stayed with Kairi and her family for a few days. Eventually, I felt like I was wearing out my welcome despite their insistence that I stay longer.

"Where will you go, John?" Kairi's mother asked.

"I'll try to find my home," I replied. "I have some things I need to do."

"Are you sure you want to do this John? It could be dangerous," Kairi whispered. "You could be consumed by the Darkness like Riku almost was!"

"The Darkness won't harm me Kairi. I can control it."

"That's exactly the idea Riku had. It got him possessed by Ansem!" Kairi exclaimed. She seemed so worried about me. Me, a complete stranger and of no consequence to her.

"I'll be fine. I'm sure I'll meet Riku if he's in the Dark realm like you said he is," I said. "I'll even try to bring him back with me. And If I meet this other friend of yours, I'll tell him that you miss him."

"Thank you John. You really are a good person. I don't care if you don't have a heart, you're still more human than most people I've ever met," she said. She gave me one last hug and I set off through a portal of Darkness that I was somehow able to create at will.

The trip through the portal felt like seconds and hours at the same time. There was no way an ordinary person could survive very long in one of them. The pure Darkness would eat their heart in a matter of minutes. I had nothing to fear because I didn't have a heart. That was one advantage of being an empty shell. Another advantage was the dark powers that this new form gave me. I am able to summon two swords made out of blue energy. Those came in handy later in my journey.

I finally came to the end of the portal and appeared in front of a castle. Not exactly where I wanted to go, but I could feel that it was close enough to the Darkness that I could walk the rest of the way. I really didn't want to go into one of those portals again. I told myself I'd only use them in emergencies. The castle was large. It was very strange looking. And it rested on a ledge that had an enormous black hole behind it. It appeared to have thirteen floors and, from the best I could tell, 13 basements hanging below the ledge. Whoever built this must have had a thing for the number 13. I decided I'd go in and check it out. When I reached the door however, a man in a black coat like the one I saw on my last night as a human appeared before me and denied me entry.

"Who are you?" the man asked. "I've never seen you before. Hmmm, you appear to be like us. And you are powerful in the ways of Darkness. The Organization could use someone like you. Especially after that little incident with those two little brats. Our numbers have greatly diminished since he Keyblade wielder and his friend, Riku, appeared and killed half of them."

"You know Riku? I'm looking for a Riku!" I said. "And who was this other kid with him?"

"The other boy's name was Sora. And they weren't together. Sora defeated the ones from the ground floor up; Riku killed the members from the basement down," the cloaked man said. "So, have you made your decision? Will you join The Organization? We can make you a very powerful Nobody!"

"So that's really what we're called? Nobody? Then the answer is no. I work alone," I spat. If I had to be Nobody for the rest of my life, I definitely wouldn't be nobody with these people. Something told me that they were bad news.

"Then you leave me no choice!" The man summoned 6 razor sharp lances and suspended them in the air with tornadoes. Did all Nobodies have powers like this? I drew my dual energy blades and lunged at him. He was as fast as the wind. I couldn't land a hit on him. I felt a sharp pain on my right leg as he slashed me with one of his lances. I wasn't invincible, apparently. I slashed, lunged, stabbed, and even threw my swords at him; it was no use. He was just too fast. Then, in a moment of desperation, I wished that I were faster. All of the sudden, time slowed down around me. I didn't know how long it would work, so I immediately went insane and sliced the cloaked man again and again and again. Time reverted back to normal and my opponent was left broken, bleeding, and bruised.

"You have been a worthy opponent, young man. Would you please reconsider joining our Organization, please? We could really use someone like you to further our goals," he said.

"I'd rather not," I said.

"Then at least take this cloak. Your current attire is, how should I say, damaged?" he said.

"Thanks," I said, taking the cloak. It fit perfectly. Almost like it was made for me, but I could see that it was the same size as his when he handed it to me. It must change according to the build of the wearer.

"We'll meet again, boy." And as he said that, he disappeared into a dark portal like the one I came through.

I proceeded through the doors of the castle. It was very plain, yet somehow elegant. Everything was a pure white color. The ceiling, the walls and the floor were all colored with the purest white I had ever seen in my life. It was so white; it didn't need much light because it was reflected off every surface. I only saw two light sources in the whole room. The room was enormous. I thought, 'what a waste of space if they aren't going to put anything in here', as I walked down the long hall. The only decorations I saw were two large, marble podiums with marble flowers on top of them. I wondered if the rest of the castle was like this. I saw a large door at the end of the hall. I tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge. Then, I heard a voice behind me.

"You'll never get that open. No matter how hard you try, you need cards to open doors like that," the voice said.

I turned around and saw a girl standing behind me. She was about the same height as Kairi and even looked a little like her. But this girl had long blonde hair. She wore a white dress that went halfway down her thighs and blue sandals. She seemed so much like Kairi, it was uncanny. "Who are you?" I said.

"My name isNaminé. I'm a Nobody, just like you," she said. "Although, my powers are a little different from yours. I have the power to manipulate the memories of anyone I come in contact with. I've caused a lot of pain with these powers."

"Naminé, you don't seem like the kind of person who would intentionally hurt someone," I said. "You seem too good."

"I didn't mean to hurt anyone," Naminé said. "I've just been alone for so long, so I manipulated Sora's memories so he would love me and not her. I was being selfish. I promised I'd never do it again."

"Who is this, 'her', you mentioned?" I asked.

"Kairi. He doesn't admit it, but he loves her. And she loves him too. I can sense and manipulate the memories of people connected to him, as well," she said.

"Sora must be the friend that Kairi mentioned. Do you have any idea why she can't remember him, Naminé?" I asked.

"That is my doing too," she said. "Sora is in a deep sleep while I try to restore his memories. This process will take some time and he will forget about me, this place, and everything that happened while he was here in Castle Oblivion. And during his sleep, nobody connected to him except for a few will remember him. They'll know they are missing someone, but they won't know who."

"Wow, so that's why Kairi doesn't remember him. What about Riku? Do you know him?" I asked her.

"I know Riku too. I didn't mess up his memories, but I did offer to erase all traces of Ansem from him. But he would have forgotten this place too. He declined, he told me that he would rather take care of it himself," Naminé said. "I was hoping he would choose that. The Darkness is a part of him, just as the Darkness is a part of you too."

"Do you know where Riku is? I want to find him and ask him if he knows of a way to get my heart back," I explained. "I don't want to be a Nobody forever!"

"I don't know where he went. Sorry," she apologized.

"It's ok Naminé, I'll find him myself," I replied.

"Ok. By the way, thanks for taking care of Xaldin out there," she said.

"You're welcome. He won't be coming around here anymore," I said.

Meeting Naminé was so familiar. I began to think that maybe she had a connection to Kairi somehow. "Hey Naminé, whose Nobody are you, anyway?"

"Kairi's," she said with a smile on her face.

"I thought so. You are so much like her, and she told me she had lost her heart once. Does she know about you?" I asked.

"Not yet. I'll reveal myself to her when she needs me," she said.

"Goodbye Naminé," I said.

"Goodbye John," she replied. That was the last time I would ever see Naminé.


	7. Crossroads of Destiny

I wandered through the Darkness on the path in front of Castle Oblivion for what seemed like days, but I knew only a few hours had passed. Ever since I had slowed down time during the fight with Xaldin, I had a perfect perception of time. I knew that if I had any hope of survival, I would have to learn how to control my power. I fought every Heartless I came across and could feel myself become stronger with every opponent I conquered. I tried different attacks and styles with my energy swords. I found that I fought best with a backhanded style, holding my swords facing backwards. I was all alone in the dark void between Castle Oblivion and the deep Darkness. Or, at least I thought I was.

I walked to a crossroad. I decided I would camp there for the night. I was a light sleeper, so a Heartless wouldn't get the jump on me while I slept. I started to clear a place to build a fire when the fire pit ignited by itself. I jumped and heard someone snickering behind me.

"You really are a jumpy fellow, aren't you? Hahaha," the voice said.

"Who are you?" I yelled into the void. "Where are you?" I wondered.

"I'm right in front of you," he said. "The names Axel, got it memorized?"

"You're in the same cloak as that Xaldin man I defeated," I said. Axel didn't seem like a bad guy. If he were truly like Xaldin, he could have killed me while I wasn't looking.

"I saw you take the old man down. Nice work man!" he cheered. Ok, he apparently wasn't on the side of Xaldin. "I'm number 8 of the Organization. Or at least I was until I defected and turned traitor."

"Xaldin tried to make me join the Organization. Are they bad news?"

"Well, it's not that black and white. Most of us just really wanted to get our hearts back. But our Superior, Xemnas, wants to use Kingdom Hearts' power to rule the universe. He's so much like his Heartless Ansem, but he doesn't admit it. He claims to have benevolent intentions, but he is evil to the core. I'd love to burn him alive like I did Vexen, the Organization's number four," he said with a large grin on his face.

"You killed one of your own?" I replied, shocked.

"Traitor, remember?" he clarified.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot."

"Hey, why don't we travel together? It beats being in the Darkness alone," Axel said.

"Ok," I said. Axel seemed nice enough. Sure, he was a traitor, but he left the bad guys to be a good guy, right? That's not a very bad thing to do! I thank God I decided to follow Axel. He would save my life a few times before we parted ways.

"So, Axel, why did you leave the Organization?" I asked. "What's with the change of heart?"

"A friend of mine made me see the light. His name is Roxas," he said," he's the Organization's number 13. He's a Keyblade wielder too."

"How many Keyblades are there?" I asked. Everyone spoke of it like there was only one.

"I'm no expert," he said, "but I'd say there are as many Keyblades are there are people who are able to use them. It takes a very special heart to use a Keyblade."

"How many have you seen?"

"Only 3, I met a boy a long time ago when I was still human. His name was Ventus. Then there was Sora and Roxas," he said. "Roxas strangely looks just like Ven. But he can't be Ven. Ven would be at least 25 years old by now. Roxas only looks around 15."

"How do you still remember Sora?" I asked. "I thought Naminé made everyone forget as a side effect of the memory restoration!"

Axel chuckled, "It's hard to manipulate the memories in someone's heart if they don't have one," he said. "We're Nobodies, remember?"

"True," I said. That just made me even more depressed. I didn't like to think of myself as a Nobody. But, that's what I was, nothing but an empty shell. I also couldn't help wondering what had happened at Castle Oblivion. Xaldin said half of the Organization had been killed by 2 boys who were younger than me! Sora and Riku must have been very powerful. "Hey Axel, what exactly happened at Castle Oblivion? I heard Sora and Riku took half the Organization out single-handedly."

"You wouldn't believe how powerful those two are. Riku may not be a Keyblade user, but he sure has potential to be one!" Axel remarked. "Sora killed Larxene-number 11-and Marluxia- number 12. Riku took out Lexaeus-number 5-and his clone killed Zexion-number 6. I, myself, took care of Vexen just before he could tell my little plan of turning traitor to Sora."

"They sound powerful," I said in awe. I had to, at least, meet Riku. I wouldn't be seeing Sora for as long as he was in stasis. But I would have to meet Riku for a friendly duel. "You said it takes a special heart to use a Keyblade. If Roxas doesn't have a heart, how does he use one?" I questioned.

"Because he's the Nobody of a Keyblade wielder. That's another reason he couldn't be Ven. He's the Nobody of Sora!" he explained. If Sora and Kairi could be their original selves and still have a Nobody, that made me wonder if my human self was wandering out there, lost, and I was nothing more than a cheap imitation. I did notice my appearance had changed slightly. I had very short blackish-red hair when I was human. Now, I had long, jet black hair. I felt a little taller than I used to also. I had green eyes before, but now, I they were an amber color, almost red. Maybe I was just a shell wandering around with the borrowed memories of someone else. An imperfect, yet more powerful, clone of another person. I decided not to dwell on it because it would drive me crazy. Axel and I continued to wander into the void toward our destination.


	8. A Battle and Meeting of Fate

A Note From The Author: The monster that attacked John and stole his heart, who he will be confronting in this chapter is the Dark Thorn from Kingdom Hearts 2. I thought it would be cool to have it in here since you only fight one in the whole series and it is one of my favorite Heartless. Enjoy.

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After walking for a while, we decided to set up camp. Axel started the fire this time while I prepared the food. Kairi's mom had made sure to pack some extra food for my journey. They were such a generous family. We had plenty of food to last us for about a week between me and Axel. Just then, I sensed a powerful and familiar presence moving around our location at lightning speed. It was taunting us; giving us the message that there was no escape. It was fight or die. The monster leaped out of the shadows! It was even more grotesque than I remembered from the time it stole my heart! I could see the beast much better now. Its body was mainly black as Darkness with blue marks going all along its body. It had long horns that were half black, half red, and a beard that was the same. It had sharp claws on its hands and feet. The monsters eyes glowed yellow like the sun in a white-hot hatred! It had a long, orange mane-like, cape-like growth on its back that I couldn't tell if it was skin or fur. Its ankles were bound with large, heavy chains and its wrists had unchained shackles around them.

"Oh my God, not this thing again!" I yelled.

"What is it?" Axel asked.

"This is the piece of crap that captured my heart and made me like this!"

"Oh," he said, "so…do you want any help? Or is this just some personal revenge thing you've got going on?"

"He's mine!" I screamed. And with that, I unleashed all my Dark powers on the beast. I drew my energy swords and went to work slashing and gashing and slicing the monster. I managed to get in a few lucky shots, but so did he! This thing just didn't want to die! I tried to slow down time. I figured out I could only slow it down for 15 seconds without getting exhausted. It didn't work this time! The monster anticipated my lunge and stabbed me in the chest with one of his long, deadly claws. It is safe to say that he ravaged every vital organ in my body that was within the area his claw penetrated. I could feel the life drain out of me. Just then, things started going in reverse. Time was turning back. I was fully healed and able to make some adjustments to my strategy. This time, my slow-motion ability worked and I was able to slow him to a crawl. I unleashed all of the leftover, human rage I was able to 'feel' and destroyed the monster completely!

"Nice going there! You really messed him up, John!" Axel said. "You're abilities with Time are very impressive!"

"Yeah, especially since I can reverse time a few seconds back!" I said with the same smirk I always get when I'm happy.

"You can reverse time? How come I didn't…oh yeah, you would be the only one to remember it. Wouldn't you?

"Yep," I said. "It's great."

Now that my personal vendetta was settled, I could get to the more pressing matters of finding my heart and finding Riku for Kairi. I was also intrigued about this Roxas. I don't know why, but there was a sudden drive in me to find him. "Hey Axel," I said, "Do you know where I can find Roxas? I'd like to meet him."

"He's still with the Organization. You won't find him; he'll find you when he wants to," Axel replied.

"But I thought he's the one that convinced you to leave?"

"He didn't do or say anything; I left because I saw a better way because of him. He made me want to be more human. He's more human than any Nobody I've ever met. I actually think he has a little bit of Sora's heart inside him," Axel said.

"Oh," I said quietly. "So, let's go find our hearts, Axel!"

"Sounds like a plan to me," he agreed as we walked down the road to nowhere.

"Well, this is the end of the line for me," Axel said. We had been traveling together for a week. I didn't want him to leave, but I understood that he had to keep moving in order to escape from Xemnas. Xemnas had sent waves of Heartless and lesser Nobodies after him while we traveled together. It was a daily thing to be attacked and almost killed.

"Will we ever meet again, Axel?" I asked.

"Sure. We'll find each other again. That is, unless you get killed first! Hahaha," he joked. I knew that this wasn't true. We'd never see each other again.

I wandered alone for days. I was starting to remember what loneliness felt like. Sometimes, these memories of emotions were powerful enough to make me think I had them for real. I still longed for someone to talk to.

I heard someone scream from up ahead. It sounded like a woman who was in trouble. I ran as fast as I could toward the direction of the scream. She was a young woman with short blue hair. A very unusual color for hair. She was wearing a black shirt that seemed to have armor on it; long, black, armored boots that came halfway up her thighs and shorts that almost met the tops of her boots. She had deep blue eyes like the ocean. And she was in trouble. She was surrounded by Neoshadows. Another interesting thing, she had a Keyblade. It was long and sharp. It had a simple design. The teeth were shaped like a capital E. I had to help her.

"Hey, leave her alone!" I yelled at the mindless beasts like I thought they would actually understand me. I drew my energy blades and destroyed the monsters surrounding the woman. I helped her up.

"Thank you!" she said. "You saved my life!"

"It's no problem," I replied, "I'm John."

"I'm Aqua. So, you're trapped in the Realm of Darkness too?" Aqua asked.

"No," I said, "I'm just here to get my heart back. It was stolen by the Heartless and I was turned into a Nobody. Have you ever heard of the Nobodies?" I asked.

"I've never seen a Nobody, but I've heard of people losing their hearts," she said. "My best friend, Terra, lost his heart 10 years ago to a man named Xehanort. Xehanort is a very powerful Keyblade master. He has all of his Darkness plus Terra's Darkness that he acquired after possessing Terra. I'm here because I tried to save Terra from Master Xehanort," she said. I could sense that she wanted to cry over the loss of her friend. But she kept her composure.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Aqua," I said. It seemed like she has had a rough life. These past 10 years in the Realm of Darkness didn't seem to destroy her Light though. It was as strong as Kairi's. "Where are you from, Aqua?"

"A world that is not too far from here," she said. "It used to be called the Land of Departure, but now it is known as Castle Oblivion."

"I was in Castle Oblivion a few weeks ago," I said. "It had been taken over by a group called the Organization."

"Oh, no!" she cried. "Do you know if Ven is alright?"

"Ven is in Castle Oblivion?" I asked. "Axel mentioned a Ventus, but he acted like he didn't know where he was."

"Well, that's a good sign," she said.

"Besides, Castle Oblivion is almost unoccupied," I said. "Two boys named Sora and Riku killed the Organization members in the castle. They just left a girl named Naminé behind. She is fixing Sora's memories because she tampered with them."

"The name Riku sounds so familiar," she said. "I remember going to an island and seeing Riku and another boy. I almost made the other boy my successor for the Keyblade, but I saw that Terra had already made Riku his successor. I thought that one Keyblade was enough between them."

"Well, Riku doesn't have a Keyblade, Sora does," I said.

"It must have chosen him instead of Riku for some reason," Aqua said. Keyblades can do that if they know their master isn't right for them. But, if Riku proves he is worthy again, he may get another Keyblade. Redemption is one of the things that my master, Eraqus, taught us. He was a wise man."

"What happened to him?" I asked. There seemed to be a lot of pain behind her words.

"He was killed. Master Xehanort tricked Terra into killing him," she said with tears in her eyes. Her best friend had killed her master. Why didn't she hate Terra for that? She seemed to have a great capacity to forgive.

"That's very sad. You seem like you have forgiven him though? How is that?" I asked.

"Because, I don't hold grudges. Terra was confused and he gave into the Darkness in his heart," she said. "He made a mistake, and he tried to make it right by fighting Master Xehanort. But he gave into the Darkness again and it cost him his body, mind, and soul."

"You remind me of my friend, Kairi," I said.

"You know Kairi?" she asked. "Tell me, is she safe?"

"Yes, why?" I asked

"A long time ago, I put a spell on her necklace that would keep her safe, even in the deepest Darkness."

"She still wears that necklace. It still keeps her safe."

"That's good to hear," Aqua said.

"Do you want to come with me? I can help you get out of here," I said.

"No, I'll find my way. I'm looking for Terra anyway," she said.

"Oh, ok. Goodbye," I said. And with that, Aqua and I parted ways. I had the strangest feeling though, that I would meet her again someday.


	9. Ghosts of My Past and a New Ally

I walked the endless miles of the Realm of Darkness for what seemed like forever. Did this place ever end? I was beginning to think that it didn't. I rested for a while and began thinking about my human life and how much I missed it.

"John," my mother called, "time for breakfast!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming," I said halfheartedly. I really hated waking up early; especially when I had to get up for school.

"I made your favorite. Scrambled eggs and extra crispy bacon," she said.

"Thanks mom," I said. She made the best eggs and bacon. I finished my breakfast and left for school.

"Hey John," my best friend, Evan, said. We had been best friends since the second grade and that year, we would be graduating high school together.

"Hey Evan, what's up?" I asked.

"Nothing. Hey, did you see that new girl yesterday? I think she likes you," he said.

"Oh, come on. You know I don't date!" I said. It wasn't that I didn't like to date; it's just that I didn't know anyone I liked.

"Geez, you really should get out more man," he said. "Find you a girl, live, have fun!"

"I don't know," I said. I really wish I would have taken Evan's advice and lived more while I was still human. But how was I supposed to know that that would be the last year of my human life? I had no way of knowing that I would become a Nobody! I didn't even know there were such things as Nobodies. I didn't know that I would have my heart stolen from me; leaving me with only a body, mind, and a soul! My heart had been taken away, and now what drove my body was my will to exist. It wasn't a fair trade! I wanted so badly to get my heart back, to get my humanity back, and to get my life back! I wondered what everyone thought. I could see the headlines in my mind.

"John, a local college student, has disappeared and is feared dead. His last known location was in a grocery store parking lot. Police found blood near his car that matched his DNA. There was too much blood at the scene for anyone to have survived. Search teams are trying to locate his body as we speak." I couldn't handle it anymore. I just had to get things back to the way they were! I was going insane like this. I lost everything. I lost my home, my friends, my family, but most importantly, I lost my humanity!

I sat for a while and sulked. Just then, I saw a bright light ahead of me. I walked toward the light and it started to take shape. It looked like a doorway to some world I had never seen before. I went through the portal, thinking someone there may have answers to how I could find my heart.

When I came out on the other side of the portal, I was in another castle. This one looked more sinister than the beautiful Castle Oblivion. I was in the library, apparently. There were shelves and shelves of books in many languages that I couldn't understand. I saw some in English though. They were mostly history archives, old literature, and books on magic, alchemy, and science. Whoever lived here must have been a scientist, a mad scientist. I heard footsteps behind me and I turned to see who it was. I saw a boy who looked a few years younger than me, probably 15 or 16 years old. He wore a black coat like I did and a blindfold. He had long, silver hair that was about the same length as mine.

"What are you doing here? And who are you?" the young man asked.

"I'm John. I just appeared in this castle after coming through a portal of light. Who are you?" I asked.

"My name is Riku," he said. "And you stink of Darkness!" he said as he attacked. He was fast and strong. He wasn't quite as fast as Xaldin, but I could tell that Riku was no amateur when it came to fighting Nobodies. He lunged and struck and sliced at me while I parried his every attack. I eventually overpowered him and made him listen to me.

"Hold it, Riku," I said. "I'm not your enemy! I'm a friend of Kairi's!"

"You know Kairi? How?" he asked.

"She took care of me after I lost my heart," I said. "She found me when I washed up on the Destiny Islands and I stayed at her place for a few days. I'm a friend!"

"Well, if Kairi trusts you, you must be alright…for a Nobody!" he said.

"So, where exactly am I?" I asked. "What is this place?"

"It's called Hollow Bastion. It's the castle that Ansem once ruled from," he said with a disgusted tone in his voice.

"Kairi told me about how he possessed you," I said.

"She must hate me for letting myself become a pawn of Darkness," he said with obvious hurt in his voice. I couldn't see his eyes because of the blindfold, but I could tell there was a stray tear in them by the way he spoke.

"She doesn't hate you, Riku," I said. "She's waiting for you to come home!"

"I can't return home yet," Riku said. "I have some unfinished business to take care of. I won't go back without Sora!"

"I don't blame you. If my best friend, Evan, were like that, I would stay until he woke up too," I said. For a guy that had no emotions, I still remembered how hurt felt.

"You know, John, you're not bad for a Nobody. You're better than the ones I've met. I'm trying to stop Organization XIII from creating Kingdom Hearts and gaining its power."

"I've met some of them. I travelled with their former member, Axel, for a while," I said.

"He's since rejoined the Organization, John," he said. "Or maybe, he never really left."

"So, he lied to me?" I asked.

"He probably really did quit, but they have…methods…of making you come back," Riku said.

"Hmm," I said, "well, it's a good thing I refused their offer to join! Don't worry, Riku, we can handle them."

"Hahaha, you sounded just like Sora there," he said. I could tell by the way he talked about him that the two shared an unbreakable bond. They were best friends, no; they were more than best friends. They were brothers. I knew that Riku would become a very powerful ally in the very near future. Little did I know the trouble that would unfold in that future!


	10. Ansem's Secrets and a Darker Creature

"So, Riku," I asked, "why do you wear that blindfold? Doesn't it make it hard for you to see anything?" I was curious of the story behind it. Was he really blind or something?

"I wear it for personal reasons. I can see just fine with it on!" he snapped. I could tell there was something more behind his words, but I didn't press the issue. He seemed very sensitive about it.

We walked together through the corridors of Hollow Bastion. I could see many people wandering the streets below us, but we didn't encounter anyone throughout the castle. I found it odd. It didn't make sense that nobody would be in here.

"Hey, Riku," I asked, "why isn't there anyone in here if this world is still inhabited?"

Riku turned to me and replied, "Partially because they are fixing the rest of the town first. But another reason is this castle's past."

"Yeah, I know Ansem ruled here, but he's gone now…isn't he?" I asked, puzzled.

"It's the horrible things he did here that cause people to avoid this place," he said. "He would kidnap random people off the streets and do horrible experiments on their hearts. He would expose them to Darkness, feed them to Heartless, and collapse their hearts in order to make artificial Heartless!" I figured that this Ansem guy was messed up, but I never expected him to be this soulless! He really had no heart if he could just torture people like that.

"That's so horrible! How did you find out?" I asked.

"The sick monster kept a record of all his research. He was searching for Kingdom Hearts," Riku replied.

We were just about to carry on our conversation when we both felt a seriously powerful Dark presence somewhere close by in the castle. We drew our weapons, waiting for any sign of it. The room we were in was large. Large enough for a fight, we hoped. It seemed to be the foyer of the castle. It was a semi-circle shaped room with all kinds of suits of armor and old pottery. It had three levels. The first level was a large, empty area with a fountain at the front and two staircases wrapping around it. The level that the staircases led to wrapped around the room and ended just before the back wall. Toward the right was nothing but artifacts, the middle had a door with a large Heartless insignia on it, and toward the left-our current location-was a door to the library we just exited. The third level seemed like it was only accessible from the library. It had a large, circular balcony that wrapped around a large, crystal chandelier. We felt the Child of Darkness come closer toward our location. Riku cringed at the smell of its Darkness holding his weapon, Soul Eater, in an attack stance.

It was the first time I ever noticed what his sword looked like. It was about 3 feet long. The blade was shaped like a red and black, demonic wing. The handle had a blue, demonic eye where the blade and handle met. It was a frightful and intimidating weapon. I felt a phantom trace of human pity for the numerous creatures who must have met their end to the wicked blade. But that all faded soon as our mysterious guest approached our location.

The monster drew closer; slowly biding its time before the attack. It was toying with us. And all we could tell was that it was big. There was a massive tremor that shook through the room as a Corridor of Darkness appeared in the center of the makeshift arena. It covered the whole floor; pouring Darkness as the seconds went by. I could feel myself becoming stronger as I soaked up the Darkness. Darkness was, after all, my attribute. Riku explained to me that all the higher-ranking Nobodies like me had an attribute. He said I was the first he had seen that was so powerful with Darkness though. And even though I felt myself becoming stronger, I knew the beast would be stronger too so I didn't have the advantage I had hoped for. But I had Riku by my side. He was all the help I needed for this battle.

The abomination rose from the depths of the portal it created. Its appearance was the most disgusting sight I had ever had the displeasure to witness in all my young life. Its eyes glowed with a yellow hatred even greater than any other Heartless I had ever seen. It was around twenty-five feet tall. It was pure black and dark fog perpetually circled its body. It had four muscular arms and two legs. It had five razor sharp claws on each of its four hands. It had long, yellowish-white fangs with splatters of red; what I could only assume were the remnants of his last victim. Riku looked like he was going to vomit from the horrible stench of Darkness that I could imagine he was experiencing at the moment. But he kept himself together. We had to defeat this thing before it made us its next meal.

Riku charged first. Slashing his Soul Eater at the monster like a man possessed. I went on the offensive as well. The monster swiped at us and almost hit Riku. Riku charged a Dark Firaga spell and launched the ball of flaming Darkness at the creature's face. It reeled from the impact, knocking down the crystalline chandelier above us and almost killing me! I leaped up to the creature's biceps and ran along his arm. I reached his head and stabbed my energy sabers into its skull. It screamed from the pain, but it didn't fade into Darkness like I had hoped. Then, things started to take a turn for the worst! It slammed the floor and created a shockwave that knocked Riku unconscious. The beast picked him up and threw him into his mouth! I could hear the abomination grinding its teeth into Riku's broken form. He was dead and the monster swallowed his body in triumph. I screamed as I tapped into my power to reverse time. I went back to just before the monster grabbed Riku. I had to think fast. I instinctively leaped to the chain hanging from the ceiling. I covered my body in the purest Darkness I could conjure up, and dove downward. I dug into the creature's skull, through his brain, down the length of his body, and came out through his stomach. I made sure to ravage its internal organs with my swords on the way down. I emerged, covered in blood and other nasty Heartless fluids that I'd rather not know what they are. The massive Heartless fell dead behind me and Riku regained consciousness.

"Thank you, John," he said. "If it weren't for your quick thinking, I would have been a goner!"

"Actually, Riku," I said, "you did die. I have the power to reverse time! The creature ate you, so I went back to before he could kill you."

"Are you serious? Well then, thank you for bringing me back to the land of the living!" Riku said with a grateful tone in his voice.

"It's no problem Riku," I said with a smile. "That's what friends are for." I hadn't known him for long, but I felt a similar bond of friendship with Riku that I had with Kairi. No wonder they were such close friends. And the relationship he had with Sora seemed so much like the bond that I used to share with Evan. Thinking about that made me miss the old days. "Shut up, John. You'll just drive yourself insane!" a voice screamed inside my head. And it was right, I had to quit being distraught over what once was. If I found my heart, then maybe things would go back to the way they were and I could put all of this behind me. I just had to survive a little bit longer. I didn't want to be like this forever. Sure, the new powers were sweet, but I was willing to give up everything in order to be a normal human being again!


	11. Riku's Past

Short filler chapter. Just John getting to know Riku better and some stuff you would know if you've played Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. A little bit of advancing the story. Enjoy...

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Hollow Bastion was really creepy. The whole castle gave off an atmosphere of death and despair. If I had a heart, I would have probably been scared out of my mind. I wandered the endless corridors of the empty fortress with Riku. I could see a pained look on his face. He looked like his best friend had just slapped him in the face and spat on him. I could tell that this place had some dark and painful memories for him. I decided to ask him about it while we took the endless lifts to our destination.

"Riku, I can tell something's up. What happened here to make you upset like this?" I asked.

"This is the place where I was possessed by Ansem,' he said. "I did some pretty bad things under his influence."

"But it wasn't really you doing those things, Riku," I said.

"But it was my fault for letting him in," he stated, "I was obsessed with power at that time. I wanted to be stronger than Sora. I wanted to be the one to rescue Kairi!" There was pain in his voice from the memories of what happened in his past.

"You love her too, don't you?" I said.

"As a friend," he said, "as my best friend. But I don't love her the way Sora does. I remember one time; I made a bet with him. I asked him if he wanted to race. He said yes, of course. When we were on the starting line I said, 'Winner gets to share a Paopu with Kairi!' He almost had a heart attack!" he said, laughing a little.

"What's a Paopu, Riku?" I asked. I had never heard of it before.

"Oh, sorry," he apologized, "The Paopu fruit is a star-shaped fruit that's native to my homeworld. There's a legend that if two people share one, their destinies become one. They'll remain a part of each other's lives forever. It's mostly couples that do it just to be romantic," he said.

"Did Sora and Kairi ever share one?" I asked.

"No. It's not like they would need to though," he said. "Those two are the most connected people I've ever known. Even when Naminé messed up his memories and tried to replace Kairi with herself, Sora never forgot about her, not even for a second. He forgot her name, but Naminé was never able to snuff her out of his memory completely."

"Wow," that was all I could say. Sora and Kairi really were made for each other. No matter what forces came against them, they stayed strong together.

After the last lift to the top of the castle, we arrived at a large room. There were six blue pods on either side of us. They looked like they would hold someone in them if they were operational. Ahead of us were two sets of stairs that led up to a smaller platform. There was a giant, heart-shaped hole in the wall at the back of the room. The hole glowed with multiple colors of Darkness. There were reds, greens, blues, yellows, violets, and black. Scattered across the platform were various computer terminals. I had a feeling that whatever this room was meant for, it had been designed around that hole and it had also served its purpose.

"What is this place, Riku?" I asked.

"That is the Final Keyhole," he said. "This is where the seven Princesses of Heart were gathered and forced to open the Door to Darkness."

"Did you have a hand in this?"

"I was the one who brought two of them here," he said. "I kidnapped Jasmine and brought Kairi's body here." Riku was bottling up so much pain and it was coming through in his voice. He still hadn't forgiven himself for his past transgressions. "Sora came sometime after I did. It was before I was possessed, but after I had given in to the Darkness. I said some awful things to him and claimed the Keyblade he was carrying as my own. Sora was only holding it while it waited for me."

"I met a woman named Aqua who told me that her friend, Terra, had performed some kind of Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony with you," I said.

"Yes, but in the end, it had a mind of its own and chose Sora over me when it saw the destructive path I was on," he said. "I don't even remember Terra, but I have the worst feeling that I've disappointed him if he knows what happened."

"I'm sure he forgives you. The way she talked, he had his own problems with Darkness too."

"You sure?" he asked.

"Positive, Riku," I said.

"Good, then let's keep moving," he said.

"Why exactly are we here, Riku?" I asked.

"I heard that the Organization's Superior would be here," he said.

"I've heard of him. He's Ansem's Nobody, right?" I asked.

"Yes," Riku replied. "And he's every bit as cruel and sadistic as his Heartless."

We walked out of the large room through the door we came in. We entered into a large room that was smaller than the one we were in before, but still large. It looked like some sort of chapel. It was dark and plain. The high walls were a dark gray color and there was a large, circular platform in the center. At the back of the room, there was a portal of Darkness. I could sense a powerful being so much like myself behind it. "Is this where he is, Riku?" I asked.

"Yes. Are you ready, John?" he replied.

"Well then, let's do this Riku!" I said. We had to face Xemnas and I had to get answers about my heart. We entered through the Corridor of Darkness to face the Superior of the In-Between.


	12. The Superior of the InBetween

Author's Note: Hello again. Short chapter is very short, but I hope the battle with Xemnas is good enough that no one will notice (shifty eyes). I've been having a slight writer's block for about 2 days, so I haven't been able to write long without running out of ideas. I'd rather have a short, but good chapter than a long, confusing one. lol. Enjoy, read and review if you like it. Thank you to all of you who have read and will read this story in the future. It is nowhere near finished. I think it may continue for at least 26 chapters, 36 at the most. After this, updates will probably be on any days except Mondays and Wednesdays because those are the days I have classes and I've been on Spring Break this past week. Thanks again to you all for supporting my stories. Until next time, friends...

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When we came to the other side of the portal, we were in an even larger room. There was nothing in it though, it looked more like a place someone would keep a large group of prisoners. It didn't have a door, so the only way you could get in is through a Corridor of Darkness. There was a large hole in the ceiling where it looked like someone had partially destroyed the building. The presence of Xemnas was strong, but we couldn't see him.

"Show yourself Xemnas!" Riku yelled. As if on cue, the Nobody that ruled all Nobodies emerged from the Darkness on the far side of the large room. He wore a black trench coat like me, Xaldin, and Riku. He slowly pulled his hood down to reveal his face. He was slightly dark-skinned. His hair was a spikey mess of silver and it was long, reaching well down past his shoulders. His eyes were a piercing amber color like mine.

"I was beginning to think you would never arrive, Riku," he said in a monotonous drone. He was truly an emotionless Nobody. He must be the oldest, having completely forgotten what having emotions were like. There was no inflection in his voice, and no expression on his face other than pure boredom.

"You were expecting me?" Riku said in astonishment. His informant had led him into a trap.

"Yes, the one who told you I would be here, Demyx, is one of us," Xemnas said in his soft, depressing drone.

"So this was all a setup? I should have known!" he said angrily.

"Yes, and now, Dark ones, it is time for you to be no more," he said. Xemnas held his hands out and extended two long, red swords from his hands that looked like lightsabers. He charged at us and we barely dodged his blades. One of the red-hot swords burned a small lock of hair from my head. I could feel the energy coming from his blades. Riku used Dark Firaga and shot it at the Superior. Xemnas deflected the fireball with little difficulty using a personal shield he was able to summon. I went in for his undefended side and managed to get in a lucky strike. Xemnas jumped back in pain, clutching his side as blood dripped from the wound. It wasn't very deep, but it slowed him down enough for Riku to hit him with another Dark Firaga. It singed his coat a little, but did little else to him. Xemnas started to fly around the battlefield and shot small, red darts at us. We deflected most of them, but one managed to get me in my leg. It was far from my main artery, but it still hurt enough to make me collapse. Xemnas came at me with his glowing blades, but I managed to have enough strength to parry his attack with the sword in my left hand. Riku coated his Soul Eater in Darkness and stabbed at the powerful Nobody. Xemnas dodged it easily, but stumbled as he landed. I took advantage of this moment to slow down time. I had 15 seconds to get to him and do what I had to. I stumbled over to Xemnas and sliced at him with all of my strength. Time reverted back to normal and Xemnas was left bleeding profusely from the deep wounds that I inflicted upon him. I started to finish him off by decapitating him, but Riku stopped me.

"John, killing him won't solve anything," he said. "We still need him alive. We need to question him." While Riku was saying that, we didn't notice Xemnas slipping away through a Corridor of Darkness until it was too late. He had disappeared without a trace! "Crap, he's gone!" Riku said.

"Well that's just great," I said, laying the sarcasm on pretty thick. "Now what do we do?"

"Well, I'm going to go to the Beast's Castle. I also heard the Organization has a new member and she is stationed there today. I have to find her and question her."

"Take care then, Riku," I said.

"You're not coming with me?" he asked.

"No, I have my own problems to work out. I have to get my heart back."

"You do know that it's probably long gone by now, don't you John?" he said.

"I still can't give up hope, Riku!" I said. "It may be a long shot, but I've at least got to try!"

"Well then, good luck and I wish you the best," he said.

"If I see Kairi again, I'll tell her that I saw you, Ok," I said.

"Ok. Goodbye John," he said.

"Goodbye Riku," I said.


	13. The Key of Destiny

Author's Note: Hello again. Another short chapter. But it isn't a filler. This will be significant to the story later on for an undisclosed reason. We finally get to meet Roxas in this chapter. If you want, I could also write Xion into this story at some point in the future since I plan to include all of the surviving Organization members. I may add a story arc involving her anyway because I like using her as a character. It will be much later in the story, but I'll make it fit. I'm also going to upload a new story called In the Arms of the Angels when Fanfiction gets fixed and lets us upload new stories. It will be the sequel to My Black Dahlia and takes place one year later, starting on Roxas and Xion's first wedding anniversary. I already have most of it written and will be finishing it up soon. I haven't decided whether I'm going to upload the whole thing at once (it's pretty long, 8 pages so far on Microsoft Word) or if I'll divide it into chapters. Oops, I got side-tracked again. Anyway, enjoy the continuing adventures of John. Until next time, friends...

* * *

Riku and I parted ways for the time being. I wondered if I would ever meet him again after this. I decided that it was time to visit another world. Hollow Bastion really had nothing for me now. I started to open a Corridor of Darkness, but I was suddenly surrounded by Neoshadows. Their frightening appearance was only matched by their brute strength and lightning speed. I quickly drew my swords and leaped into the sea of Heartless. I slashed my way through the crowd, leaving a trail of Neoshadow limbs and corpses in my wake. No sooner than I had started, I had finished them all. I had felt myself grow more powerful with every vanquished enemy. It was almost like I was absorbing their Darkness as I slew them. It felt great, but I couldn't let it get to me. This power was extremely helpful, but if I didn't hold it back, I could lose all sense of selfhood I still had. And that would be very bad for a Nobody.

I continued through my portal and arrived in a strange city. The buildings were tall and covered with neon lights. It was night time on this world. I could see between the buildings a bizarre, heart-shaped moon. I also sensed that this world was dangerously close to the Realm of Darkness. I decided to trudge through the rain soaked streets until I found some sign of life.

My search was in vain. I couldn't find anyone in the whole city. I saw an occasional Heartless, but no one else. I found myself at the edge of a giant, blue crater. I couldn't tell how deep it was, but it was very big. There was a giant castle hovering over it and a clear, blue bridge leading up to the entrance. I decided I'd check it out. But I heard footsteps behind me coming from the alley I had just exited. I turned to see another cloaked man. He was shorter than me. As soon as he saw me, he drew an unusual sword. It looked like a silver skeleton key with a gold and blue handle. It must have been his Keyblade. "What are you doing here?" he shouted. He didn't sound like he could be any older than fifteen.

"Hey," I called, "I'm John. Do you have any idea where I am?" I asked.

"This is the World That Never Was. My name is Roxas. I'm the Organization's 13th member. My title is the Key of Destiny," he said. So, this was Roxas.

"Hello, Roxas," I said, trying my best to be friendly. "I'm a friend of Axel's. He told me about you."

"You know Axel? Do you know Xion too?" he asked.

"I know Axel, but I don't know Xion. Who is Xion?"

"She's our newest member. She's number 14," he said. She must be the new member Riku was going after.

Roxas didn't seem like a bad guy. Even though he was mixed up with the Organization, he seemed good. I also didn't feel that much Darkness around him. To the contrary, he was full of Light. That must be his attribute.

"A man named Xaldin tried to get me to join the Organization. I'm a Nobody and my attribute is Darkness," I said, trying to keep a conversation with him. He put his Keyblade away and drew back his hood. He had bright blue eyes and spikey blond hair. It didn't look like the hair would have fit in his hood, but I've seen stranger so I didn't question it.

"Did you say you would join us?" he asked. "You are kind of wearing our uniform after all."

"No, I told him I'd rather find my heart myself," I said.

"We could make it really worth your while. You'd be with others who know what you're going through. We could be there to help you," he said. He seemed to truly believe that the Organization had good intentions.

"I probably wouldn't be welcome anyway. Xemnas attacked me in Hollow Bastion a few hours ago and I messed him up pretty badly," I said. A confused look covered his face.

"You defeated Xemnas?" he asked. "But he's nearly invincible! How did you do it?"

"I have an unusual power to slow down time and turn it backwards," I answered. "I can only slow it down for about fifteen seconds in my time and I can only turn it back about five minutes into the past."

"Wow," he responded. "We could have really used someone like you in our ranks.

"Yeah, but it's just that I want to do this for myself," I said. "I don't' think I would work very well in your organized group."

"Suit yourself," he said. "If you ever do decide to join, I could put in a good word for you, ok?"

"I'll think about it," I said. Maybe the Organization wasn't so bad after all. I mean, if it has people like Roxas, it can't be that bad could it?

"Ok. Well, I've got to go to Xemnas and report the results of my last mission. Catch you later?" he said.

"Sure," I said. "And Roxas," he turned back around to me after he started to walk off. "Don't mention me to Xemnas, ok? He might not take hearing my name very well!"

"I won't," he said. And with that, he disappeared into the shadows of the alley. I heard him open a Corridor of Darkness. He was probably taking a short-cut to somewhere in the castle. I decided I'd go into the castle to check things out.


	14. The Castle That Never Was

Author's Note: This chapter is a little longer than the last few I have posted. I decided to include Xion in the story. I took the opportunity to introduce a new Organization member. I may have John fight him later in the story, but I don't know yet. Enjoy and until next time...

* * *

The corridors of the castle were seemingly endless. I was helplessly lost in the maze of hallways. I didn't even know what I was looking for. I heard voices coming from down the hallway. They seemed to get louder and closer. I found an air vent in the wall and crawled into it. The two people stopped right in front of me, but they didn't seem to know I was there.

"I met a very powerful Nobody outside of Castle Oblivion a few weeks ago," he said. His voice sounded so familiar. "He wields the most primal combination of Darkness and Time I have ever seen in my life! Not even Luxord can control Time like this boy can!"

"Really," the other said. "Did you try to get him to join us?"

"I tried, but he refused and we fought. I suffered a humiliating defeat by his hands," the familiar man said. I recognized him. It was Xaldin. I didn't know who the other was though.

"You're losing your touch, old man," the other replied.

"Shut up, Braig," Xaldin snapped. "I seem to remember ten years ago, you couldn't even defeat that fool Terra!"

"Whoa, man," Braig said, "no need to get hateful Dilan." I thought his name was Xaldin. I guessed that Xaldin was just his codename. It made me wonder about Roxas and Axel. I wondered what their real names were. Braig and Dilan also seemed to have a history with Terra. I wondered if they knew Aqua and Ven as well.

Braig and Dilan left in opposite directions without another word. It really upset me because I wanted to find out more. I decided to go deeper into the castle. Maybe I would find Roxas again. I finally managed to squeeze my way out of the tight vent. I didn't really have time to think through how I was going to get out when I crawled in.

"I'm never going to find my way out of this place!" I said. I was getting aggravated. A cloaked figure saw me from down the hallway. I started to run away, but he called out to me and I recognized the voice.

"Hey, John," he said. It was Roxas. "Hey, wait up!"

"Oh, hey Roxas," I said. "I wasn't expecting to see you again for a while."

"Yeah, Xemnas let me go early. He just yelled at me like always," he said.

"He yells at you? Why?" I asked.

"He has unrealistic expectations of me. He expects me to be like Sora," he said. "But I'm not Sora anymore. I'm my own person."

"Is Roxas just your codename?" I asked.

"Yes. Xemnas has this little ceremony where he takes our original names, mixes them around, and adds an 'X' somewhere in the middle," he said. "It seems stupid at first, but it helps us put our past behind us and develop our own identity. Although, I don't understand the whole deal with the 'X'."

"Well, I don't know how my name would work out like that," I said.

"Xemnas would find a way," Roxas replied.

"I guess," I said. "I would really like to meet Xion soon. Do you know where I would find her?" I asked.

"She's going on a mission in Agrabah soon. You should be able to meet her there in a few hours," he said.

"Thanks, Roxas," I said. For some reason, I had to find her. I didn't know why, but I just had to.

"Anytime, John," he said. "And feel free to come to the Train Station tower in Twilight Town. Xion, Axel, and I eat ice-cream there every day after our missions. It's kind of a tradition of ours. You're always welcome to join in."

"I may just do that sometime. But I have some more snooping to do here at the castle. Maybe I can find a way to get my heart back," I said.

"Ok, but if you join the Organization, you can be guaranteed to get your heart back. When we finally complete Kingdom Hearts, we'll all be whole again," Roxas replied.

"I'm still trying to make my decision. It's nothing personal against you, Roxas," I said, "but I just don't trust the other members, especially Xemnas, Braig, and Xaldin. What is Braig's codename anyway just so I'll know?"

"It's Xigbar. I don't trust the higher-ups either really. Xigbar always looks at me funny. It's like he's not looking at me, but someone else. It's really creepy," he said. I remembered Axel said that Roxas looked like Ven, but I didn't bring it up.

"Thanks. See you again soon, Roxas?" I asked.

"Yeah, you know where to find us later," he said.

"Twilight Town, right?" I asked.

"Yep, see ya later." He disappeared down another long hallway and I was once again left alone. I pulled up my hood so no one would recognize me just in case I ran into another member of the Organization that wasn't as friendly as Roxas or Axel. I had to get to Agrabah and find Xion. I opened up a Corridor of Darkness and willed it to find Agrabah.

I appeared on the other side of the portal in a scorching hot desert. It looked like the Middle East from back home. There was sand as far as the eye could see. I estimated that it was around 120 degrees. In other words, HOT! I felt all the saliva in my mouth dry up as soon as the heat hit my body. It didn't help at all that I was wearing a long, black trenchcoat! I saw a figure in the distance. I knew instantly that it wasn't an Organization member. The figure had medium-length black hair, his skin was really dark and he was wearing baggy white pants and a purple vest. He also had a little monkey on his shoulder that was wearing a fez on its head. He was running from something. A few moments later, three Bandit Heartless popped out of the corner he had just come from. I ran toward him to try to help him, but before I could reach him, a giant blue man appeared from a small oil lamp. The blue man snapped his fingers, and the Heartless disappeared into thin air.

"Nice going, Genie," the man said. The blue guy must have been his genie.

"No problem, Al!" he said. They seemed like they were friends; not master and slave.

"Hey, Genie, who's that?" the man said when he saw me.

"I don't know, Al, but let's find out," the genie replied.

"Hey, I'm John," I said. "I'm looking for someone named Xion. Have you seen her?" I asked. I didn't even know what this Xion girl looked like.

"Can't say I have. But it's nice to meet you. I'm Aladdin and this is Genie," he said.

"Nice to meet you guys too. I'll just look for her somewhere else. Thanks anyway," I said.

"You're welcome. If we see her, we'll find you," Aladdin said.

"Thanks," I said as I turned and walked into the streets of the city. I had to find Xion before her mission was complete, but I didn't know how long her mission would be.


	15. The Nonexistent Ones

Author's Note: Hey, its been a while since I've updated this story. Story progression with a little bit of filler. I've been a little consumed with Shadow of the Slenderman. I think I'll make this story go to at least 22 chapters. I don't want to drag it out too long and make it boring. At the most, I'll do about 30. If I draw it out too long, I'm afraid I'll take away from the story, plus I have that limited timeframe between Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts II so I can't make it go on indefinitely. Enjoy the story, friends...

* * *

I walked through the blistering heat trying to find Xion. How hard was it to find someone in a black coat in the middle of the desert? It felt like hours, but I knew I'd only been there for thirty minutes thanks to my perfect perception of passing time. Sometimes, I saw it as more of a curse than a blessing. Things seemed to move slower when I knew what second of what minute of what hour of what day it was. I thought it would drive me insane sometimes.

I wandered through Agrabah until I reached the wall of the city. In front of me, there was a vast, dry desert. The golden sand was white hot in the sun. This planet must be closer to its sun than any other planet I've been to. I thought I was seeing things until I noticed that the black outline in the distance was real. I ran over to it and saw that it was someone in an Organization cloak. The person had a very feminine figure that was very attractive. The cloak was tighter on her than anyone I had ever seen. It hugged her curves in a way that made my heart skip a beat. She noticed me and drew a Keyblade. This had to be Xion.

"Who are you?" she inquired. "Why are you wearing our Organization's uniform? Are you a new member?"

"My name is John," I said. "Are you Xion?"

"Yes, I'm Xion, number XIV of the Organization," she stated. Her voice sounded like music to my ears. She pulled down her hood to reveal the face of an angel. She had short, black hair and big, violet-blue eyes. She looked familiar. She looked like Kairi. "And why are you wearing the coat? Are you a new member?"

"I'm not sure yet," I answered honestly. I had been seriously considering joining. "Xaldin gave this to me after he tried to recruit me. I refused at first, but then I met Roxas. He made me seriously consider joining the Organization."

"What is your attribute? My powers are in Light like Roxas," she said. I sensed much Light in her. Something also seemed different about her. I could almost sense a heart. I felt the same way around Roxas and Naminé. But Nobodies weren't supposed to have hearts, were we? I decided not to think about it too much.

"I have two. They are Darkness and Time. I feel more powerful in Darkness right now, but Time is starting to get stronger too. I'm able to reverse Time for up to five minutes and I can slow down Time for fifteen seconds in my time. Those powers have saved my life more than once," I said. I couldn't get over how beautiful she was.

"Wow," she said, "not even Luxord can reverse time. He can only place time limits on you," she chuckled. "We could really use someone with your talents in our ranks. We're always scouting for new members. You could be number XV."

"I'm seriously considering joining. It sounds more appealing coming from you and Roxas than it did coming from Xaldin's lances," I said.

"He fought you?" she asked in disbelief. "And you won?"

"Yes," I said. "He fought me when I refused and I completely owned him." I could feel my face turning up into a smile. I was still a little happy about that victory. Xion smiled a little too. I started to sense that maybe there was more between Roxas and Xion than what they would tell. If Roxas never asked her out, I would. I got to thinking, how could I be feeling this if I were a Nobody? I figured it was just leftover humanity.

"Xaldin is pretty strong," she said. "I've never defeated him." She checked the watch on her left wrist to see what time it was. "Oh my God! I've got to get going. I was supposed to meet Roxas for ice-cream today!"

"He told me about that," I said. "He invited me, but I would feel like I was intruding."

"You wouldn't be," she said with a cute smile on her face. "The more the merrier."

We left Agrabah through a Corridor of Darkness and headed for Twilight Town. We could see Roxas sitting on top of the tower with a plastic cooler by his side. Xion and I went into the building and took an elevator to the top of the tower. We exited the small elevator and sat down next to Roxas on the ledge. He handed each of us a blue popsicle. I unwrapped it and took a lick. It tasted very salty at first, but that turned into a sweet taste. I liked the interesting flavor combination. I finally broke the silence.

"I thought Axel came to these things," I said. "Where is he?"

"He said he had something to do with Saix," Roxas said. "Saix is the Organization's number VII. I don't really like him that much, but he's an old friend of Axel's from when they were both human; back when their names were still Isa and Lea. Really, the only ones I like are Axel, Demyx, and Xion." I remembered hearing Demyx's name when Riku and I fought Xemnas. Demyx deliberately led Riku into a trap that almost got both of us killed. What kind of people did Roxas and Xion hang out with?

"Xion," I asked.

"Yeah," she replied.

"If you don't mind my asking, what was your original name?" I inquired. She hadn't mentioned anything before about it.

"I don't know," she said with a sad look in her eyes. "I can't remember my human life." It seemed like there was more that she wasn't telling me.

"Does that happen a lot?" I asked. I almost started to not ask that because I felt like I was prying.

"I can't remember my human life," Roxas said. "I can only go by what others tell me about Sora. He seems like he was a nice guy. I wish it would have been possible for me to meet him, but seeing as I'm his Nobody, that could have never happened." He looked just as sad as Xion did.

"But, Naminé is a Nobody, and her original self is still around," I said.

"Really?" Xion asked with hope in her eyes. "My original for could still be out there?" Her beautiful eyes lit up like diamonds.

"I don't know," I honestly answered. Roxas stared out toward the horizon. I turned to face the horizon also. The sunset looked so beautiful, but it didn't look like it was ever going down.

"You're trying to figure out why the sun isn't setting, aren't you?" Xion stated.

"Yeah, how did you know?" I asked.

She smiled and let out a little chuckle, "Because that's the first thing I wondered. This world's sun never goes down completely. This side of the planet is the only part that's inhabited. The other side never sees the sun and it's a cold, barren wasteland. It has something to do with the way this planet orbits its sun."

"How do you know all this, Xion?" I asked.

"Roxas told me, he's smarter than he looks," she said. "He's probably smarter than Sora was!"

"This is really great, guys," I said. "Thank you for inviting me. You're the only friends I have right now." The thoughts of my past hurt. I was somehow feeling hurt. But, I wasn't supposed to have emotions because I had no heart. I wondered what on earth was going on. I attempted to keep myself occupied with the moment.

"We enjoy having you here, John. You should come here more often," Roxas said. "We're here every day." I agreed and watched the sunset with my new friends. I was closer to making my decision about joining the Organization. I had to admit, it was very appealing to me.

"I think I will join the Organization," I said.

"You serious, John?" Roxas asked. "That's great! We're one step closer to completing Kingdom Hearts." Roxas was ecstatic. I'd never seen him happier. I didn't say anything, but I knew for sure he had a heart. Roxas and Xion would be the two best friends I could have ever asked for. I felt like I would need their friendship in the future.

* * *

Author's Note: John's made his decision to become the Organization's number XV. But will he go through with it? And what will Xemnas and Xaldin think about it? Tune in to find out. Until next time friends...


	16. Where Nothing Gathers

Author's Note: Hey guys, I think I'll wrap this up within the next four or five chapters. I don't know how much I can drag this story on. I'm afraid that if I make it too long, it will get repetitive and boring, and I don't want that. I want this story to be special since it was my first fanfiction. Don't worry though, the next few chapters will be epic to make up for the lost length of the story. Read and review. Reviews help me make adjustments to my writing and make me strive to be better. Enjoy friends...

* * *

A few days had passed since the first time I had ice-cream with Xion and Roxas. I came back to see them every day. Axel was there a few times as well. I thought I would never see him again. We caught up on what we had been doing the several weeks it had been since I had last seen him. Xion and Roxas had gone to Xemnas on my behalf and asked him if I could join the Organization. They told me that he seemed quite calm. Maybe he didn't harbor any hard 'feelings' over his defeat at my hands. He told them that he would discuss it with the other two senior members. Xion and Roxas told me that there had been six senior members, but Sora and Riku had killed them. I figured that the other three must have been the ones who died in Castle Oblivion just before I became a Nobody.

"Xemnas should be getting back to us today about whether he's going to let you in or not," Xion said. She had done most of the talking when they asked him to let me join. He seemed to value her input a lot more than Roxas', even though he had seniority over her.

"I hope so," I replied. "I really do want to join your ranks." If it meant getting my heart back, I was even willing to make a deal with a devil. And that was what I felt like I was doing!

Almost as if he heard us talking about it, Xemnas appeared from a Corridor of Darkness behind us. "Let us return to The World That Never Was, fellow nothings, so we may inaugurate our fifteenth member into the Organization!" he said with a phantom trace of joy in his voice. We did as he said and walked through the Dark portal to the Organization's headquarters.

I felt a smile curl up on my face as I thought about getting my heart back. There was a little trace of suspicion, but I didn't let it get to me. Xemnas was unable to feel, so what would make him hold a grudge over a past defeat?

We arrived on the other side of the portal. The room was a tall, circular courtroom. There were fourteen thrones encircling the white room. Some of the thrones were empty. They must have belonged to the victims of the massacre at Castle Oblivion. There didn't seem to be a ceiling and it seemed to stretch upward forever. Roxas, Xion, Axel, and Xemnas leaped up to their respective thrones and I was left alone in the middle of the room with nine powerful Nobodies staring downward at me.

"Welcome, fellow nothings!" he said reverently. "Today is a rare and momentous occasion. Today, we welcome a new Nobody into our proud Organization! His name is John and he is quite powerful in the ways of Darkness and Time manipulation. Xaldin and I have witnessed his immense, almost primal, power firsthand! Xigbar, Xaldin, and I have discussed the matter long and hard. We have come to the agreement that he will be a powerful asset to further our cause. Let us also take the time to remember our fallen comrades. This is in remembrance of Vexen, Lexaeus, Zexion, Larxene, and Marluxia. As we are well aware, they met their untimely demise at the hands of the Keyblade's chosen one and his comrade, who was once under the influence of my deceased Heartless, in Castle Oblivion. Welcome, John. We hope that you will prove to be a remarkable ally in our quest for Kingdom Hearts!" he said as he finished.

They all removed their hoods so I could see them more clearly. I removed my hood as well out of respect. The one with the eye patch, who was sitting next to Xemnas, looked at me with an amused look. I could only guess that it was Xigbar. A man with long, black dreadlocks sat just below him. I figured he was Xaldin. They were seated according to their rank for now. Below Xaldin was a man with silver hair and an 'X' shaped scar on his face. Axel sat below him. A young man about my age with a blond mullet sat below Axel. A man with blond, buzzed hair sat below him. Roxas and Xion were almost at ground level with me. A fifteenth throne materialized next to Xion. "Take a seat, young man," instructed the blond haired man next to Roxas. I did as he said. "Let me introduce us all," he said. He seemed friendly enough. "My name is Luxord, the man below our Superior is Xigbar. You already know Xaldin. Saix is the man below him. You know Axel, of course. The man just above me is named Demyx." I remembered Demyx was the one who led me and Riku into that trap in Hollow Bastion. "And you are well acquainted with Roxas and Xion. On behalf of all of us, I welcome you to the Organization. I hope you enjoy your time with us."

"Thank you, Luxord," I said. I felt very welcome among their ranks. But something also felt very off. Xigbar wouldn't quit smirking at me. It was very unsettling.

"So, what now?" Xigbar spoke up. I barely had time to register that he had even moved before he was on top of me! He had his gun pointed at my chest. "You think we'd really let you join us, John? It's time to die, Nobody." He pulled the trigger on his gun and fired a round into my chest. I screamed in pain.

"John!" Axel, Roxas and Xion screamed in unison. I felt the life drain out of me rapidly.

"What is the meaning of this, Xemnas?" Luxord said. "I thought he would be our number XV!"

"He's a friend of Riku," Xemnas responded. "Why would I let him infiltrate our ranks?"

"Is this true, John?" Luxord asked.

"I know Riku," I struggled to say as I was dying. I had to muster the strength to turn back time. "Luxord," I called, "help me reverse time a few minutes. I know you have power over time!"

Luxord and I concentrated on the moment. I felt the two of us move backward through time. My wound started to heal up and I felt the life return to my body. We stopped the moment before Xigbar teleported to my throne. I drew my energy swords and had them at his throat the second he appeared before me. "What the…?"

"I control Time, Xigbar," I said, cutting him off mid-sentence. "You almost killed me, but I can reverse time. Now, back away unless you want to die, old man," I said with a sadistic grin on my face. Xigbar slowly backed away from me. I stood up and walked to the center of the room. "Xemnas, I know you never intended to let me join. Now, fight me one-on-one like a man!"

"Impressive talents, young Jonathan. I'm amazed at your power," Xemnas replied. "But we shall fight another day. I suggest you leave before I banish you to the Realm of Nothingness like I did to that fool Ansem the Wise!"

"With pleasure, Superior," I said. I pronounced his title with sarcasm thick in my voice. I opened a Corridor of Darkness to the tower in Twilight Town. I sat on the edge of the tower and stared into the sunset. Roxas, Xion, Axel, Demyx, and Luxord followed me.

"John, are you ok?" Xion asked with concern washing over her angelic face.

"I'm fine," I lied. I wasn't fine. I thought I was finally going to get acceptance in a group just like me.

"I'm truly sorry, young one," Luxord said with illusionary sympathy and guilt. I would normally take false sympathy with offence, but that was the best I could expect coming from a Nobody. All we could do was fake emotions. "If I had known, I would have warned you."

"It's ok, Luxord," I said. "I know you didn't know."

"You know Riku? I'm sorry for selling you out in Hollow Bastion, man," Demyx said. "If I had known you were so cool, I would have never misled Riku."

"It's ok, Demyx. It gave me the opportunity to totally own Xemnas," I said with satisfaction. I remembered Xemnas' statement about how I would fight him in due time. I sat there with my friends and accepted the fact that I would probably never find my heart.

"You can still find your heart, John," Roxas said. "Just don't give up, you might still find it."

"Why is he looking for his heart?" Luxord said. "This boy didn't lose his heart, he has a shattered heart."

"Shattered Heart?" I asked. I could feel the look on my face was that of a puzzled expression.

"It's a very rare occurrence," Luxord elaborated. "You are a special kind of nobody who was created when a powerful Heartless accidentally destroys a person's heart while stealing it. I could sense it when I first saw you. Your heart isn't really gone. It's just in several fragments that can never be put back together. Your emotions that you feel are very real!"

"My heart is destroyed? I'll be like this forever?" I asked with terror in my voice.

"I'm sorry, John," Luxord said soberly. "And one of the limitations of our powers is that we can't change the fact that we became Nobodies. If I could, I would go back to the moment I became a Nobody, but I can't."

"Wow," was all I could respond to that. I would be stuck like this forever and there was nothing I could do about it. I decided that, from that day on, I would try to make the most of my powers. "At least I've got friends like you guys," I said. The happiness I felt when around them was actually genuine. I still had my emotions, albeit they were incomplete because my heart was in pieces, but they were real nonetheless.

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Author's Note: What do you think? Good, bad, ugly? Have you guys figured out who John is supposed to be? If you haven't, all will be revealed in due time. There will be a decent time gap between the next to last and the last chapters. Actually, about a ten year gap. Until next time friends...


	17. Deep Dive

Author's Note: Hey guys, we're drawing toward the conclusion of Shattered Hearts. One or two more chapters to go. I just want to take the time to thank you all for reading this story. I hope you had/have as much fun reading it as I did writing it. A little warning, the next chapter after this will have about a 10 year gap. Think of it as kind of an epilogue and this as the actual "ending". The next chapter will just be an epilogue, but it won't be short. Enjoy friends...

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I was getting adjusted to this new life. I was even learning to like it. My powers over Time had grown exponentially, but I was lacking in the area of Darkness though. I returned to Twilight Town to have ice-cream with Xion and Roxas. I hadn't seen them in almost a year. I appeared on the ledge, but they weren't there. All of the sudden, Roxas appeared out of nowhere and he was fighting a giant, pinkish-colored Nobody in mid-air. I started to jump in and help him, but he seemed to have it under control. He slashed at the powerful Nobody with his Kingdom Key. He had the upper hand in this fight.

The monster fell to the ground below and Roxas came down with it. I jumped down to the ground and started to walk over to him to congratulate him, but I stopped and hid in the shrubbery when I saw exactly what had happened.

I looked over to see Roxas cradling Xion in his arms. She must have been the Nobody he was fighting. She didn't look to great; she looked like she was dying in his arms. I tried hard to hold back the tears that were escaping my eyes. I hadn't seen Xion in so long and here she was, dying right before my eyes. He appeared to be forgetting her because of the way he talked to her. I couldn't figure out what was going on.

"Am I…the one who did this to you?" he asked.

"No…" she said. "It was my choice…to go away now." Roxas was really losing his memories of Xion. The look on his face was heartbreaking to say the least. "Better that, than to do nothing…and let Xemnas have his way." I wondered what Xemnas had to do with this. "I belong with Sora. And now, I'm going back…to be with him. Roxas, I need you to do me a favor. All those hearts I've captured…Kingdom Hearts…set them free," she said as she was dying. They exchanged more tearful words as Xion started to fade from existence. I'd never seen a nobody die before. Roxas continued to cradle her in his arms. "Goodbye, Roxas. I'm glad I got to meet you…oh and of course Axel too. You were both my best friends. Never forget," she said as she placed her hand on his cheek. A tear ran down his face. "That's the truth." Those were her last words before she died in his arms. Her beautiful, violet eyes closed in the eternal sleep of death.

Her hand dropped from his face. He caught it in his hand before it fell. My heart was breaking. It pained me to see Roxas like this. He and Xion were my first two friends in this life. She faded away and her essence was absorbed into Roxas. I could have sworn I saw a heart. I knew she wasn't completely gone. Something of her would live on in Roxas.

I couldn't believe Xion was dead. I was half-tempted to go back in time and change it. I had been practicing and I could now go back in time a few hours instead of five minutes. But I didn't go back. Luxord had warned me about tampering with events in the past. He said that if I changed too much, I would affect the whole course of time. He called time travel our "Blessing and Curse". He had stopped going back altogether because the temptation was too much.

I went to the World That Never Was and snuck into the castle. I had to find out what Xemnas had to do with Xion's death. I looked around multiple rooms close to where I knew Xemnas spent his time. I came across a laboratory and hacked into the computer. What I found startled me.

Xemnas and Vexen had been working on a cloning project known as the Replica Program. So far, there had been two successful clones. One was of Riku. It said he had died by the real Riku's hands in Castle Oblivion. I remembered Riku mentioning that at Hollow Bastion. There was a second clone. Its designation was No.i. It said that No.i had been created to give the Organization the ability to collect hearts. There was a file attached to the document. I clicked it and opened it up. It was a picture of Xion. "Oh my God," I said to myself. "Xion was a clone of Sora and Roxas?"

"Exactly, and now you know why she died," a voice called from behind me. It was Riku, but I wasn't sure why exactly he was here or even knew I'd be here. "She had to die so Sora could wake up. His memories were trapped inside her. That's why she looked like Kairi. She also contained the heart of a fallen Keyblade wielder named Ventus."

"Riku, what are you doing here?" I asked.

"I've come because a man named DiZ sent me to take Roxas in. He needs to rejoin with Sora," he said.

"So Roxas has to die too?" I asked. I was pretty irritated with Riku. Didn't he care about their lives?

"No, quite the contrary, he'll never be more alive than when he is joined with Sora. DiZ has created a virtual Twilight Town for him to live out a few more normal days. When he's ready, he'll be whole again," Riku said reassuringly. "You don't have to worry, John. It's all working out for the best."

"Do you need help?" I said. I was really hoping he would say no. I didn't think I had it in me to fight one of the only friends I had left. There were still Axel, Demyx, and Luxord, but I didn't talk to them much. Roxas and Xion were my best friends out of all of them.

"No," he said to my relief. "I have to do this myself. I may have to give in to the Darkness in my heart. If that happens, I don't know what will happen to me. Xehanort's Heartless will probably possess me again, but I've got a mission and I'm willing to do anything to wake Sora up!" It touched my 'heart' to know that Riku cared about his best friend enough to risk his own heart to save him.

"Well, take care, Riku," I said. "See you again?"

"I hope so. After this is all over, after Sora wakes up and Xemnas is defeated, you should visit him and Kairi on the Destiny Islands," Riku said with sadness in his voice.

"And you too, right?" I asked with concern.

"I don't know. That depends on what becomes of me. If I get out of control, I'm asking you to eliminate me. I don't want to hurt anyone anymore!" he said.

"Don't talk like that, Riku," I said sternly. "You're not going to go crazy. And I'm not going to kill you!"

"John, you don't know how much you remind me of Sora," he chuckled. "Sora would have said those exact same words." He started to laugh harder at the thought of his best friend. "I'm going to go find Roxas. Since he's absorbed Xion, he's probably gotten more powerful. If I'm right, he'll have two Keyblades."

"Ok, see you Riku," I said. Riku disappeared down the hall. I created a Corridor of Darkness and teleported to the roof of one of the many buildings surrounding Memory's Skyscraper in the Dark City.

I saw Roxas standing in the middle of the square, surrounded by Neoshadows. He drew two weapons that I'd remembered seeing before. They were the Oathkeeper and Oblivion Keyblades. Riku had told me about them. Oathkeeper was the good luck charm Kairi gave Sora, but I didn't know how Roxas had gotten a hold of it. Oblivion was a Keyblade that Sora found in Hollow Bastion shortly after he fought Riku. He found a black crown charm and placed it on his Keyblade and it created the Oblivion.

Roxas unleashed all the rage he felt from Xion's death into the Heartless. He sliced through their sickeningly distorted bodies. The limbs and heads of the Neoshadows were flying all over the place. His coat was covered in purplish, black blood and so were his Keyblades. He wielded both of them gracefully. I felt that Xion was somehow helping him, but I didn't know how. He was still outnumbered though. I looked up from the massacre below to see Riku standing on top of Memory's Skyscraper. I looked back down to see that Roxas had noticed Riku as well. Roxas leaped up to the building and started to run up the wall. Riku jumped head-first down the side of the skyscraper as Roxas tossed Oblivion to him. They passed each other at the middle of the building. Riku landed on his feet at the base of the building and Roxas jumped back down. They finished off the rest of the Neoshadows together before turning on each other. Riku had the advantage of speed, but I'd seen Roxas fight. Roxas had the advantage of power. Riku was Darkness, and Roxas was Light. Last I checked, Light had a slight advantage over Darkness. Riku charged at him, but Roxas matched him blow for blow. Their Keyblades clashed together and the sound resonated throughout the city. If there were people here, they would have crowded around to see what was going on. Roxas saw an opening in Riku's defenses and took advantage of it. Riku tried to parry, but Roxas knocked the Keyblade out of his hand. Roxas took a swing to finish Riku off, but Riku coated his left hand in Darkness. His wrist made contact with Oathkeeper's blade and made a sickening crunch. Roxas had broken Riku's left wrist. Riku summoned Oblivion back and kept fighting. I could only imagine that Riku's hand was killing him, but he didn't let it bother him. I couldn't hear their conversation because they were so high up, but I heard Riku talking about how he had to give in to the Dark in his heart. Roxas stumbled back as Riku removed his blindfold, revealing his emerald eyes. A giant pyre of Darkness erupted around Riku as his form was altered. When the Darkness cleared, he had the appearance of an older man. He was very tall. His skin was a very dark tan and his hair was long, gray, and pointed at the top. The form looked something like Xemnas, but not exactly. I figured he must have turned into Xehanort's Heartless.

Roxas stumbled back even more, but it was no use. A large, black Heartless that was covered in bandages appeared behind Riku and it grabbed Roxas. It squeezed harder until Roxas lost consciousness. Riku/Xehanort looked up at me and saw that I'd been watching the whole time. He looked back at Roxas and put his hood up as a strange man appeared out of a Corridor of Darkness. Once again, I couldn't hear their conversations. Riku picked up Roxas and carried him through a portal of Darkness. That was the last time I would ever see Roxas. I was saddened about the loss of another friend. But at least he wasn't dead like Xion. He would live on in Sora. I couldn't wait to meet Sora when he woke up so I could see Roxas again.

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Author's Note: So, what do you think? Next chapter will be the epilogue, so stay tuned. I had originally planned for this chapter to be two separate chapters, but Xion's death was too short and I incorporated it into this "Another Side, Another Story: Deep Dive" chapter. Until next time...


	18. Epilogue: Ten Years Later

Author's Note: Thank you all for supporting this story. You, the readers, are the reason I continue to write. I hope that you will continue to enjoy my stories in the future. I have another project in the works. A Kingdom Hearts/Percy Jackson crossover. The Twilight story is also in the works. I'll probably start on it after finals week. Thank you again. And remember to let me know if you want a third story for the "Black Dahlia" series. Like I said, I may write one anyway, but let me know if you want it published. I hope this chapter gives a sense of "completeness" for the story. This is ten years in the future, but also ten years in the past. Enjoy friends...

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_Ten Years Later_

I've witnessed many amazing things since I became a special kind of Nobody ten years ago. Over the years, I've made friends, lost friends, and watched as amazing events unfolded. I saw the return of the Keyblade wielder, Sora. I watched as he selflessly traveled from world to world, defeating the Heartless, Nobodies, and the Organization along the way. I watched as Sora and Riku became full-fledged Keyblade Masters. I beheld the ultimate demise of Xehanort by the hands of Sora, Riku, and Kairi. I had met Sora on a few occasions afterward. I watched over him and his friends for ten years.

Sora and Kairi had a family now. They finally started dating after Xehanort's death. They got married soon afterward. They had two beautiful children. I watched over them too. Sora and Kairi performed Keyblade Inheritance Ceremonies with them. Those two were to become their successors after Sora and Kairi were gone. Sora and Kairi treated the occasion with great reverence, but the kids didn't seem too concerned with the future. I hadn't gone to that future so I don't know if they will be thrust into something like their parents had to go through. Only time will tell.

Every time I looked at Kairi and Sora, I saw Roxas and Naminé in them as well. I could have sworn I saw Xion in Sora as well. I missed them so much.

I accepted my role as an observer. I would intervene when necessary, but I mainly just watched as these events unfolded. Sora, Riku, and Kairi didn't need me to defeat Xehanort. The bonds that tied their hearts together were more than enough to extinguish his Darkness forever.

Xehanort's death finally released Terra from his torment. Ven never woke up because his heart was too far damaged. It had already become a part of Sora and the selfhood he had left was in Roxas. Aqua escaped the Realm of Darkness. She and Terra have since taken apprentices, Terra having been promoted to Master by Master Yen Sid. Their young prospects show promise. I have every confidence that they will be just as great as their Masters.

I never received a Keyblade because my heart was in pieces. I didn't mind though, my dual energy swords were all the weapons I needed. And I could augment them with Fire and Aero magic. I became quite proficient in those specific arts. My Darkness was diminishing. I hadn't had the need to use it very much except to open the odd Corridor of Darkness. I became more oriented with Time. I could now slow down time as long as I wanted. I could also travel through time as I pleased. I rarely did it though. I didn't want to mess up the timeline. Things had worked out just the way they were supposed to.

Curiosity got the best of me, however. I decided to go back twenty years into the past and see Terra, Ven, and Aqua when they were in their prime and to test their abilities. Castle Oblivion seemed like it was an important part of their past, so that's where I decided to go before I went back. I stood outside the large castle and concentrated. Time started to move backward rapidly. As I was going back, I saw, in reverse, the massacre at Castle Oblivion at the hands of Sora and Riku. It was very brutal.

I started to materialize into the timeframe. I noticed that Castle Oblivion wasn't there. There was a partially destroyed castle in its place and the terrain looked like someone had taken a nuclear weapon to it. I turned invisible-another power I realized I had-and walked across the landscape.

I saw Aqua surveying the destroyed remains of what I assumed was her homeworld. She seemed to take note of my presence. I materialized behind her and turned toward her. She turned back toward me and looked at me with a puzzled expression. Her big, blue eyes lit up with curiosity and suspicion. I raised my right hand and drew one of my swords. The heat from the blade radiated throughout the cold area. She took out her original Keyblade and went into defensive mode. I drew my other sword and took a battle stance.

First, I lunged at her with a slicing motion. She was faster than I gave her credit for. She easily avoided my attack. I combined my two swords into a dual-bladed weapon and sent a graceful flurry of strikes her way. She deflected most of them, but I got in a few lucky hits. I just hit her armor, but she still felt it. I created phantom copies of myself and willed them to attack her from all sides. She deflected their attacks with a Reflega spell and the kinetic energy was deflected back to them. The blast destroyed them easily. I used a powerful Aeroga spell to try to throw her off guard so I could attack, but she rolled out of the way and struck me with her Keyblade. I was bleeding profusely from the wound she had inflicted. I reversed time a few seconds and got out of the way. It was a pretty cheap move, but still…I had to do what I had to do. I summoned three pillars of Fire around me and charged her. I singed her clothes a little, but didn't do much else. I kept repeating my tactics and eventually combined them, but it was to no avail. She struck my back with her Keyblade and I collapsed in pain. For the first time ever, I admitted defeat. Aqua was truly a Keyblade Master. I used a Curaga spell on myself to heal my injuries. I disappeared from sight and watched as Aqua looked for me. I reappeared next to her and placed a small hourglass in her hand. I had fashioned it beforehand as sort of a reward for her. It had a chain so she could attach it to her Keyblade. I disappeared again and watched her look for me again.

A few hours after she left, a young boy who looked just like Roxas appeared. I figured he was Ventus. I fought him in a similar manner that I battled Aqua and he defeated me as well. I held back a little because he was so young, but he still would have beaten me if I hadn't held back. I gave him a similar keychain for his Keyblade. His was special. It was enchanted to be a similar length to his other, shorter Keyblades. I saw where Roxas got his skills from. Ventus was a truly worthy opponent.

Terra came by shortly after I fought Ventus and Aqua. I tried a little harder to defeat him, but the outcome was still the same. I admitted defeat and gave him the third hourglass charm. His was supposed to be larger than the others to augment his brute strength. I had a smirk of satisfaction on my face as I watched him test his new Keyblade. I returned to my own time and never went back to that time period again.

I was devastated when I first transformed into a Nobody, but I learned that this so-called "curse" was actually a blessing in disguise. My life had meaning and purpose. I had met so many amazing people along this road I was forced to walk. I gained power beyond my wildest dreams. I helped people who were hurting and witnessed Light prevail over Darkness. I learned many things. Far too many things to name, but all of them helped me along my journey. I wouldn't wish this life on anyone, but I felt like I was finally somewhere I belonged.

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Author's Note: So, what do you think? John is the Mysterious Figure from Birth by Sleep. Thank you guys for reading this. Check out my other stories if you like this. Stay tuned for the rest of Shadow of the Slenderman. And my Percy Jackson/Kingdom Hearts crossover is in the works. I should have the first chapter after my research paper is finished. 6-8 pages about Anse Bundren from As I Lay Dying. I should have it finished in a few days, if even that.


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